Method and system for automated visual comparison based on user drilldown sequences

ABSTRACT

A method for presenting data comprises receiving the data; and deriving a multi-level dynamic hierarchical structure for the data based on drilldown sequences input from a user, wherein the drilldown sequences automatically compute a graphical visual comparison of the data and comprise: deriving a multi-pixel bar chart to display an aggregated data paradigm; and deriving a graphical illustration to display a data distribution paradigm.

BACKGROUND

Business data is a source of valuable information and can provide acompetitive advantage if the data can be quickly and accuratelyanalyzed. Finding valuable information hidden in large amounts of data,though, can be quite challenging. Business service researches, forexample, need to compare daily market changes and sales growth rates.This information, however, can be concealed in vast amounts of data.Visual data comparison techniques can be extremely useful for revealingsuch valuable information hidden in data.

Visual data comparison techniques include simple graphical techniques,such as bar charts, pie charts, and x-y charts. These simple graphicaltechniques are easy to use but offer limited information, especially forvisually evaluating large amounts of business data. For example, simplebar charts or pie charts show highly aggregated data whilesimultaneously omitting many other data values, such as datadistribution of multiple attributes, patterns in data, correlations, orother detailed information.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a method for presenting data comprises receiving thedata; and deriving a multi-level dynamic hierarchical structure for thedata based on drilldown sequences input from a user, wherein thedrilldown sequences automatically compute a graphical visual comparisonof the data and comprise: deriving a multi-pixel bar chart to display anaggregated data paradigm; and deriving a graphical illustration todisplay a data distribution paradigm.

Other embodiments and variations of these embodiments are shown andtaught in the accompanying drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a multi-level hierarchy structure according to an exemplaryembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary multi-level hierarchy structure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a drilldown illustration of hierarchy level (2) of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary bar key for use in FIGS. 3, 5, 7, and 8.

FIG. 5 is drilldown illustration of hierarchy level (3) of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a comparative illustration for FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a drilldown illustration of hierarchy level (4) of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a comparative illustration for FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention is directed to visualdata comparison techniques for quickly and easily comparing, analyzing,and/or revealing information in large amounts of data. The invention,for example, can be utilized to visualize valuable information concealedin vast amounts of data, such as business data. As one example,differences, changes, or trends in large amounts of data can bedistilled to be quickly and easily visually apparent.

FIG. 1 illustrates one exemplary embodiment as a multi-levelhierarchical structure. This structure, for example, may be embodied invarious systems, methods, and/or apparatus. The structure provides avisual comparison of data using a multi-level hierarchical tree toautomatically compute and compare changes over time of data. The changescan be visually revealed in various paradigms. The changes, for example,can be revealed in two paradigms: changes in aggregated data (such astotal values), and changes in how data is distributed. These changes,and corresponding comparisons, can be revealed with differentvisualization techniques or visual data comparison techniques and stillbe within the scope of the invention. Further, embodiments within theinvention are applicable to various types of data and are not limitedto, for example, business data.

The hierarchical structure of FIG. 1 includes a plurality of differentlevels. These levels can vary in type, number, or degree, just to name afew examples. FIG. 1, for example, shows numerous different levels,shown as level (1), level (2), level (3), and continuing to an n^(th)level, level (n^(th)).

In one exemplary embodiment, the hierarchical structure of FIG. 1utilizes user drilldown event sequences to provide a dynamichierarchical tree structure that automatically performs comparisons withdata at a previous level. These comparisons are visually displayed tothe user in the form of, for example, graphical illustrations. Thevisual comparisons are automatically constructed or generated based onuser input information or specified user drilldown sequences, choices,or selections. For example, if the user commences at level (2) anddrillsdown to the first block in level (3), then a first visualcomparison is automatically generated and presented to the user. If, onthe other hand for example, the user commences at level (2) anddrillsdown to the second block in level (3), then a second visualcomparison is automatically generated and presented to the user. Thesecond visual comparison would be different than the first visualcomparison since the drilldown sequences between the two examples aredifferent.

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention comprise a dynamichierarchical tree structure. As used herein, the term “dynamic” meanscharacterized by or having the ability to change or alter. Thus, theconfiguration, structure, or sequence of hierarchical tree can changedepending on user selections or drilldown sequences made by the user.FIG. 1 shows that the hierarchical tree can have a multitude of levelsand a multitude of components (shown as blocks 1^(st), 2^(nd), . . .N^(th)) in each level. The configuration, structure, or sequence of thehierarchical tree, thus, changes or alters depending on the drilldownchoices made by the user.

The term “drilldown” or “drill down” (or variations thereof) is usedwhen referring to moving down through a hierarchy of folders and/orfiles in a file system like that of Windows. The term may also meanclicking, selecting, and/or navigating through a series of dropdownmenus or graphical illustrations in a graphical user interface.Drilldown layers, for example, allow the user to explore the graphicalillustration in a hierarchical manner by pointing, clicking, and/orselecting on the part of the graphical illustration where more detail isneeded but illustrate an exemplary embodiment for discussion.

The hierarchical structure in accordance with the present invention canbe utilized in various environments and with various functions orpurposes. In one embodiment, for example, the structure is used toprovide a visual comparison of current data values (such as rankingaverage, standard deviation, and data distribution) within average groupvalues of a previous or adjacent upper level in the multi-levelhierarchical structure. Looking to FIG. 1, for example, if a userdrillsdown from level (2) to level (3), then a comparison of databetween level (3) and level (2) can be automatically computed and thenpresented to the user in the form of a graphical illustration. In otherwords, as the user drillsdown from a first level to a second level inthe hierarchical tree, comparisons of data between the first and secondlevels are automatically performed or computed and then thesecomparisons are visually presented to the user. Preferably, suchcomparisons are computed in real-time for presentation to the user via,for example, a graphical user interface.

Various paradigms or models can be utilized in embodiments in accordancewith the present invention to provide visual comparisons of the databetween adjacent levels in the hierarchical tree. The visual comparison,for example, can be revealed in the utilization of both aggregated dataand data distribution. Aggregated data provides information that can bequickly and easily analyzed. Data distribution provides much moredetailed information, such as on ratios, proportional information, andexceptional data.

FIGS. 2-8 illustrate exemplary embodiments in accordance with thepresent invention and provide examples of the features discussed inconnection with FIG. 1. FIGS. 2-8, however, are intended to beillustrative in nature. As such, specific numerical data values (such asspecific quantities, dollar amounts, etc.), data categories (such asspecific calendar periods, product types, regions, etc.) or otherspecific information should be interpreted as illustrative fordiscussing exemplary embodiments. Such specific information is notprovided to limit the invention.

FIGS. 2-8 represent visual data comparison techniques for a hypotheticalcompany. For illustration, large amounts of business type data areassumed to exist. This data may be gathered and/or compiled over aperiod of time for a variety of different products in a variety ofdifferent regions. In the scenario, data is gathered over a one yearperiod, shown at level (1) as “Year-1” in FIG. 2. Level (2) illustratesthat this data is divided into monthly increments, January throughDecember for the given year. As shown in level (3), each month can befurther divided into respective days occurring in the month. January,for example, is divided into 31 days to represent January 1^(st) throughJanuary 31^(st). Each day is further divided into respective regions,shown as Region-1 through Region-N in level (4). These regions, forexample, could represent cities, states, countries, or othergeographical boundaries. In turn, a plurality of products, shown asProducts-1 through Products-N, is provided for each respective region.Of course, the hierarchical structure of FIG. 2 does not need to belimited to any particular time frame, geographical boundary, or product.

FIG. 3 is a drilldown illustration of hierarchy level (2) of FIG. 2. Forillustration purposes, assume that a user starts at “Year-1” in level(1) and then drillsdown to the month of January in level (2). As theuser performs this drilldown sequence, the graphical illustration inFIG. 3 is automatically generated or computed and then visuallydisplayed to the user, for example, on a display of a computer or otherelectronic device. For illustration purposes, the month of January inFIG. 3 is shown as a pixel bar chart. The illustration includes anX-axis that represents the 31 different days in the month of January.The Y-axis represents a dollar amount ($ Amount). A bar exists for eachday of the month. Two numbers appear above each bar. A first numberrepresents a number of events or transactions (# Transactions) thatoccurred for the specific day in the month of January. A second numberrepresents a total dollar amount (Total $ Amount) corresponding to themoney or dollar amount for the respective number of transactions. Forexample, the number of transactions could represent the number of salesof product and/or services or contracts that occurred on a specific day.Further, the total dollar amount could represent the amount of salescorresponding to the specified number of transactions. As shown forillustration purposes, January 1^(st) had 100 transactions with a totaldollar amount of 4 million dollars. Of course, the dollar amounts couldbe given in any denomination, and number of transactions or dollaramounts could be given with various multiplies (such as 10, 100, 1000,etc.).

In FIG. 3, the bars each have an equal height. The width, though,corresponds to a number of transactions that occur for the specific day.For example, since January 2^(nd) has 150 transactions and January3^(rd) has 50 transactions, the width of the bar of January 2^(nd) isthree times the width of the bar of January 3^(rd).

In an exemplary embodiment, each bar of FIGS. 3, 5, 7, and 8 is a pixeltype bar. The pixel bars represent additional information withvariations in, for example, color or graphical or textual distinctions.FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary bar key for use in FIGS. 3, 5, 7, and 8.As shown in FIG. 4, each bar can illustrate three different levels ortypes of information corresponding to high, medium, and low. Of course,a greater or lesser number of levels could be utilized. For example, avariety of different colors could be used to distinguish betweennumerous levels within each bar.

Looking to FIG. 3, the Y-axis is further divided into “positive sales”and “negative sales.” A positive sale, as understood in the art, canrepresent positive income through a contract or sale, for example. Bycontrast, a negative sale could represent a returned product or arecanted sale or contract, for example. A dividing thick line in eachbar distinguishes or divides the positive and negative sales. This line,for example, could be colored to visually separate the positive andnegative sales.

FIG. 3 illustrates in a single chart (here a pixel bar chart) an exampleof using visual comparison to analyze aggregated data (here number oftransactions and total dollar amount). Each specific transaction (suchas a single sale or contract) is represented by a single pixel in eachbar. In the chart, the X-axis represents a day, and the Y-axisrepresents a value of dollar amount. Of course, representations in the Xand Y axes could be switched or altered and still be within the scope ofembodiments in accordance with the invention.

In FIG. 3, each pixel can be arranged in a variety of ways. For example,pixels can be arranged from bottom to top and left to right in each bar.The dollar amount ($ Amount) can be encoded in each pixel andrepresented, for example, as a color or other graphical representation(such as shown in FIG. 4).

FIG. 5 is a drilldown illustration of hierarchy level (3) of FIG. 2. Asthe user performs this drilldown sequence, the graphical illustration inFIG. 5 is automatically generated or computed and then visuallydisplayed to the user. For illustration purposes, the day of January1^(st) is shown as a pixel bar chart. The illustration is generallysimilar to the illustration discussed in connection with FIG. 3. As oneimportant difference, the X-axis in FIG. 5 represents various regions.For illustration purposes, the regions are designated as variouscountries or geographical regions, such as JP (Japan), US (UnitedStates), UK (United Kingdom), SA (South America), CA (Canada), IT(Italy), etc. The Y-axis represents a dollar amount ($ Amount).

It should be noted that color can be used to visually presentinformation to the user. In FIGS. 3, 5, 7, or in other figures, colorcan be used to provide a visual comparison for aggregated data. Forexample, the numbers in the “Total $ Amount” line or in the “#Transactions” line could be colored. For example, a green number couldvisually signify that the particular number is above the averagecomputed from the above, adjacent level in the hierarchical tree. A rednumber could visually signify that the particular number is below theaverage computed from the above, adjacent level in the hierarchicaltree. A black number could visually signify that the particular numberis equal to the average from the above, adjacent level in thehierarchical tree. Of course, other colors could be used as well.

As a simple illustration, the “1M” in the line “Total $ Amount” of FIG.5 could be colored green. This color would signify that sales of 1million dollars in Japan on January 1^(st) were above the average dailysales of Japan for the entire month of January. By contrast, if the“700K” in the line “Total $ Amount” were colored red, then the red colorwould visually signify that sales in the United States on January 1^(st)were below average.

In an exemplary embodiment in accordance with the invention, single ornumerous hierarchical levels can utilize a drilldown function toillustrate comparative or deviation type information. The type or extentof such comparative or deviation information is vast. For example,comparisons with an average value or deviations from a known or standardvalue can be shown. FIG. 6 shows one example.

FIG. 6 is a comparative illustration for FIG. 5. FIG. 6, for example,could be automatically generated or computed, upon actuation from theuser, as a variation window or graphical illustration to illustrate adifference in comparison. In FIG. 6, the X-axis is divided into theplurality of regions illustrated in FIG. 5. For illustration purposes,these regions are shown as JP, US, UK, SA, CA, and IT. The Y-axis isdivided into standard deviations from an average, shown as a horizontalline approximately along the middle of the Y-axis. The average, forexample, could represent the average sales of all the regions forJanuary 1^(st). Looking to the examples of FIG. 6, on January 1^(st),Japan had approximately 1½ standard deviations above the average. TheUnited States was slightly below the average in sales on January 1st,and the United Kingdom was slightly above the average.

Modifications to the comparative illustration of FIG. 6 are quitenumerous. For example, the average along the Y-axis could insteadrepresent average daily sales for a month of all countries or a singlecountry or region. Numerous variations are within exemplary embodimentsof the invention. FIG. 6 illustrates that comparative or deviation typeinformation can be visually portrayed for a particular level or for aparticular chart or illustration.

FIG. 7 is a drilidown illustration of hierarchy level (4) of FIG. 2. Asthe user performs this drilldown sequence, the graphical illustration inFIG. 7 is automatically generated or computed and then visuallydisplayed to the user. For illustration purposes, the United States isshown as a region. The illustration is generally similar to theillustration discussed in connection with FIG. 3. As one importantdifference, the X-axis in FIG. 7 represents various products and/orservices. For illustration purposes, the products and/or services aredesignated as personal computer (PC), server, printer, etc. The Y-axisrepresents a dollar amount ($ Amount).

As noted, a comparison can be made of each bar's aggregated value, suchas total value, with the average value from a previous level. For a datadistribution, a resulting pixel difference bar can be generated. FIG. 8illustrates one such example.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of using visual comparison to present oranalyze differences in data distribution at the record level. In thisexample, differences in data distribution are shown as product salesup/increase and product sales down/decrease. For this illustrativescenario, each product can be represented by a single pixel, with eachpixel representing a single product sale at the record level. The X-axisis a day (for example January 1^(st)), and the Y-axis is value or dollaramount ($ Amount). Pixels are arranged from bottom to top and from leftto right in the Product Sales bar and Average Product Sales bar. Thedollar amount of each product sales can be encoded in the pixel color orpixel graphical representation, for example. Thus, each product onJanuary 1^(st) is compared with a corresponding product in the averageproduct sales bar. In the resultant or comparison sales bar, color isused to show the difference in sales. As an example, green can be usedto show product sales on January 1^(st) as being greater than theaverage sales for that product. Black can be used to show product saleson January 1^(st) with no change or unfound. Red can be used to showproduct sales on January 1^(st) as being less than the average sales forthat product. From FIG. 8, the difference in sales (such as increase ordecrease in sales) can be readily visualized at the record level.Further, it should be noted that data distribution paradigms cancomprise over a million data records.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the invention. Per block 100 a user partitions and/orenters data. A user, for example, could enter data to develop or definespecific levels for construction of a user defined multi-levelhierarchical structure, such as the structure shown and described inconnection with FIGS. 1 and 2. Further, the user can enter data todefine or build specific drilldown sequences, such as those described inconnection with the various figures. Further yet, the user can enterdata to define how to partition the data. For example, the user candefine the various X-Y axes in FIGS. 3 and 5-7. For illustrationpurposes only, some user defined criteria would include, productcategories, time (years, days, hours, minutes, etc.), geographicalregions (cities, states, countries, etc.), and hierarchies. In short,the user can enter any or all of the parameters discussed in connectionwith FIGS. 1-8 to enable a user defined visual data comparativestructure. Additional parameters are also within exemplary embodimentsof the invention.

Per block 110, the graphical results are automatically computed as theuser performs a drilldown sequence. Once the graphical results arecomputed, they are displayed to the user. The graphical results can bedisplayed in various formats, such as those discussed in connection withFIGS. 1-8. Preferably, as noted, each drilldown sequence automaticallyprovides the user with a visual comparison with aggregated data from theprevious, adjacent level. Thus, if a user drillsdown from level (N) tolevel (N+1), then the graphical illustration at level (N+1) will providea visual comparison with data at level (N).

In one exemplary embodiment, all bars are automatically displayed indescending order (i.e., the group of concurrent bars with the highestvalues is placed at the left-most portion of the illustration, and thegroup of concurrent bars with the lowest values is placed at theright-most portion of the illustration). In short, the user preferablycan quickly identify the top three and bottom three groups or bars.

Further, in one exemplary embodiment, value comparisons are made withdata from the previous level in the multi-level hierarchical structure.Valuations can be colored or graphically illustrated for quick analysis.For example, green could represent high value (such as higher sales)while red represents low value (such as lower sales).

Per block 120, the user can navigate graphical results through amultitude of possible paths along the hierarchical tree shown in FIG. 1.The user could specifically choose a level from the multi-levelhierarchical structure for a more detailed inspection or comparison. Theuser could thus drilldown, navigate up, down, and through the variouslevels to visualize both aggregated data and data distribution. Further,it should be noted that the display of such graphical results is notlimited to the single illustrations. In other words, multipleillustrations can simultaneously be displayed to the user. For example,the graphical illustrations of FIGS. 5 and 6 can simultaneously bedisplayed to the user on a single display or on multiple displays.

The structure of the multi-level hierarchical tree can be used tocompare various values or information (such as current ranking average,standard deviations, and data distribution) with average values fromother levels (such as the average group value from the previous upperlevel or level (N−1)). For example, the user can visually compare thesales of a specific day to the average daily sales for the month inwhich the specific day occurs. For a data distribution, the resultantpixel difference bar can be generated. Further, visual comparison can beused to analyze differences in data distribution (such as increaseand/or decrease in sales).

FIGS. 1-9 illustrate various aspects of the invention. As shown, adynamic hierarchical tree structure can be developed based on userinput. This input can include specific drilldown sequences to performautomatic comparisons with data at various levels of the hierarchicaltree, such as comparison of level (N) with level (N−1). Visualcomparisons can identify discrepancies or differences in variousparadigms, such changes in aggregated data (such as comparisons withaverage values), and changes in how data is distributed. These changes,and corresponding comparisons, can be revealed with differentvisualization techniques or visual data comparison techniques. By way ofexample only, such visualization techniques include two dimensional andthree dimensional illustrations, including bar charts, pie charts, X-Ycharts, and other graphical or data representative techniques.

In another exemplary embodiment in accordance with the invention, datain the illustrations can be ordered to provide ranking or sequentialinformation. For example in FIG. 5 or 7, the bars can be aligned in aspecific order to portray visual information. In FIG. 5, regions withthe top three sales can be provided first (here JP, US, and UK), andregions with the bottom three sales can be provided last (here SA, CA,and IT). In FIG. 7, products and/or services with the highest sales canbe listed first, and products and/or services with the lowest sales canbe listed last.

Further, a user can repeatedly drilldown throughout the multi-levelhierarchical structure. A drilldown, for example, can occur to visuallyidentify comparison results or deviations within the data. As such,exemplary embodiments of the present invention show not only visualizingchanges in aggregation data, but also show visualizing the differencesin data distribution while navigating or drilling-down through the data.It should be noted that the comparison techniques are not limited topixel bar charts or any specific type of graphical representation. Thecomparison techniques can be utilized with various graphical tools, suchas bar charts, pie charts, and/or parallel coordinates, to name a fewexamples.

As noted various graphical illustrative formats can be used withembodiments of the present invention. Pixel bar charts are one suchformat. In a pixel bar chart, data values can be directly presentedinstead of aggregated into several data values. Each data item isrepresented by a single pixel in the bar chart. The detailed informationof a single attribute for each data item is encoded into the pixel (forexample, into the pixel color). The data can then be displayed andaccessed.

Pixel bar charts can be defined or specified with five tuples orattributes (such as pixel object, dividing attribute, Y-orderingattribute, X-ordering attribute, and coloring attribute). For example,FIG. 3 can be arranged as a pixel bar chart and have five tuples(arranged as customer, day, dollar amount, number ofvisits/transactions, dollar amount). The pixel bar chart of FIG. 3 canbe constructed as follows: First, group the pixels into rectanglesaccording to the grouping attribute (days) to divide the X-axis space.Second, fill the corresponding rectangles with pixels from the bottomand place the pixels in order inside each rectangle according to thepixel ordering attribute (dollar amount for Y-axis and number ofvisits/transactions for X-axis). Lastly, color or shade the pixelsaccording to the pixel color or shade attribute (dollar amount, numberof transactions, or other attribute).

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention can also utilizemulti-pixel bar charts. Multi-pixel bar charts use different colormappings with the same partitioning and ordering attributes. In otherwords, different attributes are mapped to different colors. Preferably,each pixel (for example, each customer) is located at the same relativelocation across all pixel bar charts. At the same time though, eachpixel shows a different attribute (such as number of transactions,quantities, locations, etc.). In turn, the color of each pixel variesaccording to the value of the corresponding attribute. The user canactivate (such as “click-on”) a pixel to get the corresponding attributevalue.

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention can be utilized forvisualization of multidimensional data sets using multiple pixel barcharts and other embodiments using pixel bar charts. As such, UnitedStates Publication No. 2003/0071815 A1 (Pub. Date: Apr. 17, 2003) andentitled “Method for Placement of Data for Visualization ofMultidimensional Data Sets Using Multiple Pixel Bar Charts” is fullyincorporated herein by reference. Further, embodiments in accordancewith the present invention can be utilized for visual comparing ormining of multiple simultaneous presentations and other suchpresentations. As such, U.S. application Ser. No. 09/609,101 filed Jun.30, 2000 and entitled “Method and Apparatus for Visual Mining ofMultiple Simultaneous Presentations by Plugging in a Plurality ofExisting Graphic Toolkits” is fully incorporated herein by reference.

The method and system in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention may be utilized, for example, in hardware, software, orcombination. The software implementation may be manifested asinstructions, for example, encoded on a program storage medium that,when executed by a computer, perform some particular embodiment of themethod and system in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention. The program storage medium may be optical, such as an opticaldisk, or magnetic, such as a floppy disk, or other medium. The softwareimplementation may also be manifested as a program computing device,such as a server programmed to perform some particular embodiment of themethod and system in accordance with the present invention.

While the invention has been disclosed with respect to a limited numberof embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate, upon readingthis disclosure, numerous modifications and variations. For example,various types of data can be utilized with embodiments in accordancewith the present invention. Such data includes, but is not limited to,revenue analysis, fraud analysis, business impact analysis, e-commerceanalysis, or other business data. It is intended that the appendedclaims cover such modifications and variations and fall within the scopeof the invention.

1. A method for presenting data, comprising: receiving the data; andderiving a multi-level dynamic hierarchical structure for the data basedon drilldown sequences input from a user, wherein the drilldownsequences automatically compute a graphical visual comparison of thedata and comprise: deriving a multi-pixel bar chaff that simultaneouslydisplays numerical values of aggregated data for plural bars; andderiving a graphical illustration that displays a comparison of thenumerical values of aggregated data.
 2. The method of claim 1 whereinthe comparison includes standard deviations for the numerical values ofaggregated data.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the plural bars of themulti-pixel bar chart have equal heights.
 4. The method of claim 1wherein deriving a graphical illustration further comprises providing acomparison of product sales with average product sales to derive adifference in product sales.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein deriving agraphical illustration further comprises deriving standard deviationsbetween a plurality of products.
 6. The method of claim 1 whereinderiving a multi-level dynamic hierarchical structure further comprisesinputting preferences from the user for a plurality of different levelsof the multi-level hierarchical structure.
 7. The method of claim 1wherein deriving a multi-pixel bar chart further comprises ordering aplurality of bars according to product ranking.
 8. The method of claim 7wherein ordering a plurality of bars further comprises arranging threeconsecutive bars to have a highest ranking and arranging threeconsecutive bars to have a lowest ranking.
 9. The method of claim 1wherein deriving a multi-pixel bar chart further comprises coloringpixels green and coloring pixels red, wherein the green pixels representhigher sales than the red pixels.
 10. A computer-readable medium havingcomputer-readable program code embodied therein for causing a computersystem to perform a method of arranging data, said method comprising:determining a set of attributes for placement of the data in a pixel barchaff having plural bars that each include a plurality of pixels witheach pixel encoded with a portion of the data; and drilling down fromthe pixel bar chart to derive (1) another pixel bar chart that displaysnumerical values of aggregated data for each of plural bars and (2) agraph that displays a comparison of the numerical values of aggregateddata.
 11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 wherein said methodfurther comprises constructing a multi-level hierarchical tree having aplurality of different levels to graphically illustrate at least aportion of the data.
 12. The computer-readable medium of claim 10wherein said graphically displayable array comprises an X-axis and aY-axis.
 13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 wherein the X-axisrepresents a data category and the Y-axis represents a data value. 14.The computer-readable medium of claim 10 wherein each pixel is encodedwith a color.
 15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein thepixels are encoded with a plurality of different colors.
 16. A computersystem, comprising: a bus; a display device coupled to the bus; acomputer-readable memory coupled to the bus; and a processor coupled tothe bus, the processor executing code for: receiving data; deriving amulti-level dynamic hierarchical structure for the data based onpreferences input from a user; and navigating through the multi-leveldynamic hierarchical structure using drilldown sequences input from theuser, the drilldown sequences automatically computing (1) a pixel barchart showing numerical values of aggregated data for each of pluralbars and (2) a graph showing comparisons between the numerical values ofaggregated data.
 17. The computer system of claim 16 wherein the a pixelbar chart is based on attributes from a previous hierarchical level. 18.The computer system of claim 16 wherein the graph provides a chart withmultiple colors to visually signify changes in data distribution at arecord level.
 19. The computer system of claim 16 wherein the graphcomprises a comparison of a dollar amount of product sales during afirst period of time with a dollar amount of an average product salesduring a second period of time.
 20. The computer system of claim 16wherein the graph comprises over one million data records.